It is known in the art to have machines that make grooves in metal. However, skis are by design bowed and have curved edges, and previous cutting machines cannot obtain the necessary cut of constant depth in and parallel to the ski edge.
The present invention provides a machine that can cut skis that are not flat until mounted and flattened on the machine. Other cutting machines mount the metal to be cut on a platten or table top and assume that the article to be cut is flat already, thus no flattening clamps are needed or provided.
Both previous cutting machines and the present machine require and provide for 2-dimensional movement of the cutting tool so that curvilinear cuts may be made. However, if nonflat articles were to be cut by previous machines, the cut would not be of uniform depth because the machine cutting tool moves only in a plane parallel to the table top. If flattening clamps were added to these previous cutting machines so that the article would be flat for obtaining a cut of constant depth, the flattening clamps would necessarily be on the top surface of the machine platten or table where the article is mounted and would interfere with 2-dimensional slide movement, making the machines dysfunctional.
To overcome this design conflict of previous machines, the present invention mounts the ski and the mounting clamps on a platten undersurface--below the table. The undersurface is flat if the ski is to be flattened in a plane against the platten so that a cutting tool tracks the ski edge in 2 dimensions. The undersurface could be shaped otherwise, such as in the bow of the ski, if a side cut follower mounted to a tool holder on which the cutting tool is also mounted is biased against the ski edge and tracks the ski edge in 3 dimensions. A plurality of flattening clamps, or in general securing clamps, are also provided on the platten undersurface to secure the ski against the platten undersurface. A slide means to which the tool holder is mounted remains on the top of the machine platten, as with other machines, unobstructed by mounting clamps and securing or flattening clamps. The cutting tool on a tool holder then extends below the platten to the ski undersurface.